Soccer focus

Rome: Serie A strugglers Empoli have taken a huge stride towards escaping the relegation zone with an impressive 2-0 home victory over Udinese. A win for Udinese in Saturday's match would have lifted them to within a point of the Champions League berth occupied by Lazio. Instead, 16th-placed Empoli dominated the first half and took the lead in the 22nd minute when midfielder Antonio Busce headed in from a corner, with defender Sanchez Cribari nodding a free kick past goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis to double the Tuscans' advantage four minutes before the break. The win gave Empoli 20 points from 23 games, just two behind Siena and Reggina, who both missed a chance to climb the table when they drew 0-0 earlier in the day. Promoted Siena had lost their past five league matches but created the lion's share of the chances against Reggina. On Sunday, league leaders AC Milan meet Lazio at Rome's Olympic Stadium.

SCOTLAND

Invincible turns the tables

Glasgow: Australian Danny Invincible scored twice as Kilmarnock came from behind to beat Dundee 4-2 in the premier league. The victory on Saturday kept Kilmarnock one point above Aberdeen, 1-0 winners at Hibernian with a fifth-minute strike by defender Scott Morrison. Hearts kept a tight grip on third place - worth a UEFA Cup berth next season - with a 0-0 draw at fourth-placed Dunfermline Athletic. Hearts now have 47 points, nine more than Dunfermline. Motherwell, fifth on 36 points, hammered another nail in the relegation coffin of bottom club Partick Thistle with a 3-0 home win. Steve Hammell, David Clarkson and Derek Adams scored. Leaders Celtic, unbeaten on 73 points, and second-placed Rangers, on 60, play on Sunday. They are at home to Livingston and away to Dundee United, respectively.

SPAIN

Sevilla down but not out

Madrid: Ten-man Sevilla produced a gritty performance to come from a goal down for a 1-1 draw at city rivals Real Betis in a typically intense derby. Betis got off to a dream start on Saturday when Alfonso put them ahead with a penalty in the second minute but Sevilla equalised with a neat strike from defender Javi Navarro to hold on for a point, even though they had forward Antonito sent off late in the first half. Despite that, Sevilla came closest to grabbing a winner in the second half. The result took Betis, who have not beaten their neighbours in the past seven years, to sixth on the table, with Sevilla two points behind at ninth. Also on Saturday, Real Zaragoza eased their relegation worries with a 2-1 win at 10-man Valladolid to leapfrog their opponents and move three points clear of the drop zone.

BRAZIL

Rivaldo exits after coach sacked

Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo has walked out on Cruzeiro after less than two months at the club in solidarity with coach Vanderley Luxemburgo, who was fired on Friday. "I took the decision overnight," he told reporters in a media conference broadcast on Brazilian television on Saturday. "I haven't got [another] club, nothing like that. At the moment, I'm being faithful to the coach who brought me here." Rivaldo failed to settle at the Brazilian champions, whom he joined after spending most of the previous 18 months warming the substitutes' bench for AC Milan, playing just 10 competitive games and being frequently jeered by Cruzeiro fans. The 31-year-old, who helped Brazil win the World Cup in 2002, has formerly played for Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Deportivo la Coruna. Luxemburgo, a controversial former Brazil coach and Rivaldo's mentor earlier in his career, was fired barely three months after guiding the Belo Horizonte-based club to its first Brazilian championship.

FRANCE

Monaco and Lyon tread water

Paris: Ligue 1 leaders Monaco and second-placed Olympique Lyon have been held to 1-1 draws, which put Monaco on 55 points and Lyon on 51. Monaco, who lost 2-1 away to Lokomotiv Moscow in their Champions League first-round knockout tie on Tuesday, looked weary at relegation-threatened Toulouse on Saturday. Sylvain Didot scored for the hosts before defender Gale Givet levelled. Lyon, 1-0 winners in their Champions League match at Real Sociedad on Wednesday, also struggled at the end of their game against RC Lens, the champions going ahead in the 34th minute through midfielder Vikash Dhorasoo. Lens equalised through Wagneau Eloi. All of Saturday's matches were played in freezing conditions, with Nantes held to a 1-1 draw by Racing Strasbourg in heavy snow, while the En Avant Guingamp versus Metz match was postponed.